I watched Order in the House late last night on the ABC. This is a show that every Australian should watch at least once. If only to see how juvenile our politicians can be.
The major topics of debate were water and climate change. I was particularly interested by the climate change debate. It’s an argument that is increasingly visible and the debate pitted Rudd (Leader of the Opposition) against Howard (Prime Minister) and Garret (Shadow Environment Minister) against Turnbull (Environment Minister).
The Opposition detailed the dire ramifications of climate change and asserted that Australia should do everything possible to combat it. The Government asserted that whatever actions we take would have negligible effect because we make an insignificant impact compared to larger countries such as China (oddly enough, they didn’t mention the United States).
Both parties arguments contain merit. The Opposition argues that we should lead by example and do whatever we can. If most countries did this, it would have a significant effect on climate change. The Government argues that whatever we do won’t make a difference to climate change, but it will affect the economy. Why should we unnecessarily sacrifice the economy?
I liken the Government’s approach to just mouthing the words (instead of singing) in a choir, or not bothering to vote in an election (because just one missing vote won’t count). Let’s just hope that other world governments don’t all feel the same…